Thursday, April 15, 2010

Official complaint regarding misleading travel advertising in the United Kingdom

Attention: British Advertising Standards Authority

Sir,

I would like to lodge an official complaint regarding misleading travel advertising in the United Kingdom.

On the official website for Britain's national tourism agency, "VisitBritain" (http://www.visitbritain.org), there is a listing under the title of "Visit Britain" for the "Northern Ireland Travel Guide."

I find it somewhat misleading to imply that Northern Ireland is part of Britain, when the status of the occupied territory of Northern Ireland is the subject of much international dispute.

Might I suggest that the travel website "VisitBritain" should be renamed, "VisitBritishIsles"? Or perhaps it should be made explicitly clear that while England claims that Northern Ireland is part of"Britain", the self-determination of Northern Ireland disputes that claim.

I find the "VisitBritain" website mildly offensive, especially in light of your complaint lodged against Israel's inclusion of their capital city, Jerusalem, in a travel advert.

26 comments:

the junior
said...

and the legal basis for northern ireland not being part of the uk is ...?the last time i looked, everyone who lives there can get a british passport and can vote in uk elections.stop this childish nonsense. grow up. this is playground stuff.if this is the best you can do to justify's israel's presence in the west bank / yehuda v'shomron, you should start packing your bags now.

Umm, junior, the complaint of the British agency was against a picture of the Kotel. The Kotel is in East Jerusalem. Everyone who lives there can get an Israeli passport and vote in Israeli elections. If that's all you have to justify a Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem, perhaps it's time you drank from the Gaza sea, as Arafat would have put it.

of course i read the blog - i enjoy it even if i don't always agree with it. only reading things you agree with is so boring (which is why i'm sure you take ha'aretz ...).

there is a substantial body of international legal opinion which does not regard the old city as part of israel. the absence of embassies speaks for itself.

now, you may say that those international lawyers are wrong, and the israeli opinion is correct. you might even dismiss international law as guff (which it sometimes is) or all international lawyers as anti-semites (which they aren't). but to try to equate the status of the old city to that of northern ireland is simly childish.

because i read the blog i know you can do better. and if you want to see israel still in the old city in 50 years' time, you'll need to do better.

Northern Ireland has devolved government within the United Kingdom. There is a Northern Ireland Executive together with the 108 member Northern Ireland Assembly to deal with devolved matters with the UK Government and UK Parliament responsible for reserved matters. Elections to the Assembly are by single transferable vote with 6 representatives elected for each of the 18 Westminster constituencies.

YMedad: those who live in NI vote for the Stormont assembly and Westminster.Of course, perhaps you'd like to devolve government in the WB/J&S to all those who live there?May I give you a tip? When you're in a hole, stop digging.

Sorry, it's not in "East Jerusalem". If it were in East Jerusalem it would be in another country. Using "East XX" for a geographical area means it's a separate political entity, just as West Germany and East Germany were once two different nations.

After all, have you ever read of West United States, or East Canada? No, obviously not, because they have never existed as a separate entity. However, there IS a western United states and an eastern Canada, everyone agrees on those.

The leftists LOVE to use that "East Jerusalem" label to imply that eastern Jerusalem is in a different country and that Israel is occupying it. Truth is that even if they would hope and work for it to someday become another nation, and believe with all their hearts that Destiny will make an Arab state arise there someday, the fact is that it is presently NOT a separate political entity so writing "East Jerusalem" is grammatically wrong.

Unfortunately lots of even right-wing people who would not consciously imply that it is in a different country are unaware of this distinction and are unwittingly contributing to the impression that it is a different country - an Arab country.

So to set things straight, know that the Kotel, the Temple Mount, etc. is in "eastern Jerusalem" not East Jerusalem and please inform others of this distinction.

Gosh, junior and Yisrael, if the status of Northern Ireland was so settled, one wonders what all the bombings were about, and why that Assembly seems to be dissolved every other week, and why Sinn Fein refuse to take their seats in the London Parliament.

the fact that terrorists, or even political parties, don't like the status quo doesn't mean that there is an illegal occupation.i'm not saying that east(ern) jerusalem isn't legally part of israel because hamas says so or because they bomb buses as the murderous terrorists they are. it's not legally part of israel because that's the view of the (overwhelming) majority of international lawyers. or perhaps you'd like a test case in the icj?

1. The letter could use some editing. For example, "the self-determination of Northern Ireland disputes that claim" - self-determination is a principle not a person, and principles don't have opinions.

junior: the fact that terrorists, or even political parties, don't like the status quo doesn't mean that there is an illegal occupation...

Since you've gotten all legal-like here, I am compelled to correct you:

Your direct implication that Israel's "occupation" of eastern Jerusalem (and the "West Bank") is regarded by the international community as "illegal" is quite wrong. They don't recognize Israel's annexation of eastern Jerusalem, but they don't consider the "occupation" to be "illegal". Legally, there is a big difference. They "recognize" the "occupation" (even though they don't like it); they don't deem it "illegal". Note that if they didn't recognize the "occupation", then they wouldn't be able to claim that the Geneva Conventions apply. (In fact, they don't apply; see below.)

They only regard the "settlements" (including Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem) as "illegal", not the "occupation".

junior: [Eastern jerusalem is] not legally part of israel because that's the view of the (overwhelming) majority of international lawyers.

There is a fatal flaw in your logic here:

If "the view of the (overwhelming) majority of international lawyers" is what determines whether something is legal or not, then one must conclude that Jordan never had sovereignty over the West Bank between 1949 and 1967: Only two nations (the UK and Pakistan) recognized Jordan's annexation, while the vast majority of the world did not. By your logic, then, there was no sovereign power over the West Bank prior to 1967.

But if that is the case, then Israel's capture of the West Bank cannot be regarded as an "occupation" for the purposes of the 4th Geneva Convention, which applies clearly to a case where land under a given nation's sovereignty is captured and held by a different nation. Since there was no sovereign power prior to Israel's capture (in "the view of the (overwhelming) majority of international lawyers"), Israel cannot be legally regarded as an occupier.

Unless, of course, you wish to dispense with your claim about "the view of the (overwhelming) majority of international lawyers" being the determining factor.

No, silly. Volcanic ash is natural, and therefore cannot cause Global Warming. Only people can cause Global Warming. (Especially people who vote Republican.)

Before people came along, see, the Earth had always been at the same, nice, comfortable temperature, because there was nothing around to change it. You should watch Al Gore's video explanation of this, just like all Good Citizens do. (Or just google "hockey stick". And stay away from videos and websites from all those "skeptic scientists"; we're not supposed to pay any attention to them. To paraphrase junior, scientific reality is determined by the view of the (overwhelming) majority of climate scientists. Or at least, the majority of those with large research grants.)

Lurker, shame, shame, you called Jameel a name $#&^*(. I hope you were joking?

More people should speak out as you did in a constructive and pointed manner to show up the hypocrites in the world, instead of just 'criticizing' Jameel! Standing up for Eretz Yisrael is encumbent upon ALL Jews!

Again I will mention that after the FLOOD Hashem tilted the earth's axel, which gave us seasons and our weather (which was mostly springlike prior). In the coming Redemption when Hashem "rights the world", one of the many things to occur is the returning of the earth to its original position, which will alter the weather, and part of what we see now with the earthquakes and volcanos and tectonic plates shifting is this process occurring slowly, the same way the Geula is occurring slowly, in Hashem's great love for his children, Am Yisrael.i.e., the earth's temperatures will be affected; the earth breathes and it was created with it's own regulation mechanisms.